Written Answers Wednesday 25 June 2008

Scottish Executive

Airports

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the public health impact of (a) Edinburgh airport and (b) other airports.

Stewart Stevenson: We have not conducted studies on, or made an assessment of, the impact on public health of Edinburgh airport or any other airports in Scotland.

Airports

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has commissioned into the incidence of cancer in areas around (a) Edinburgh airport and (b) other airports.

Stewart Stevenson: We have not commissioned any studies into the incidence of cancer in areas around Edinburgh airport or any other airports in Scotland.

Ambulance Service

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many accident and emergency ambulances/units are available in Scotland, broken down by (a) parliamentary region and (b) NHS board.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held in the format requested. However, the following table sets out the numbers of all accident and emergency vehicles by operating division, as at May 2008. A number of types of vehicle make up the accident and emergency fleet, including "traditional" accident and emergency ambulances, mid-tier vehicles, rapid response vehicles, motorbikes and neo-natal ambulances.

  

 
South West
West Central
South East
East Central
North East
North West
Scotland Total


 Total Accident and Emergency Vehicles
 115
 122
 70
 86
 59
 64
 516



  Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Antisocial Behaviour

Alasdair Allan (Western Isles) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in each local authority area since 1999.

Fergus Ewing: Statistics on the number of antisocial behaviour orders granted in each local authority area between April 1999 and March 2006 can be found in the report Use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders in Scotland , laid before Parliament on 20 September 2007. Copies are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43671).

  Statistics on the number of antisocial behaviour orders granted in each local authority area between April 2006 and March 2008 can be found on our website at www.antisocialbehaviourscotland.com.

British Sign Language

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have used its languages funding to support the teaching of British Sign Language.

Maureen Watt: This information is not held centrally. Under our historic agreement with local government we have provided £34.9 billion over the next three years, an increase of 13.1% across the period, and reduced ring fencing to better enable local authorities to respond to local needs and priorities.

British Sign Language

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools currently offer British Sign Language classes to pupils.

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools offer classes in foreign languages but not British Sign Language to pupils.

Maureen Watt: This information is not held centrally.

Constitution

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the First Minister has had with the Secretary of State for Scotland on the preparation of legislative proposals for a referendum on independence for Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: None. The government’s proposals and a draft Referendum Bill are set out in Choosing Scotland’s Future – a National Conversation,  published on 14 August 2007. The Scottish Parliament will be invited to consider the draft bill in time for a referendum to take place in 2010.

Education

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made by the Sustainable Development Education Liaison Group and when its next meeting will take place.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that sustainable development education is mainstreamed in schools.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources are available to train teachers in sustainable development education.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to encourage global citizenship in schools.

Maureen Watt: There is a considerable amount of action being taken to encourage international education, including global citizenship, citizenship education and sustainable development education in all our schools. Building the Curriculum 3, published on 10 June, provides a framework for learning and teaching Curriculum for Excellence. This framework provides a guide for curriculum planners which includes the entitlement for all children and young people to experience a broad general education including understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it and understanding of the environment.

  One of the key aspirations of Curriculum for Excellence, enabling young people to develop as responsible citizens, is a central element in developing an understanding of environmental issues. Learning related to sustainable development and the environment can readily be addressed through the draft learning experiences and outcomes in a number of curriculum areas, including social studies and science. A key aim for technologies for example is the importance of young people contributing to building a better world by taking responsible ethical actions to improve their lives, and of others and the environment and being capable of making reasoned choices relating to the environment, sustainable development and ethical issues. The eco schools programme also raises awareness in schools of environmental and sustainable development issues throughout activities linked to curriculum subjects and areas.

  Developing and delivering Curriculum for Excellence is one of the commitments in the concordat with local government. This commitment will depend on reflective professionals developing their own thinking and teaching, and working collaboratively. It does not depend on a roll-out of a specific curriculum with teachers having to become familiar with completely new material.

  Teachers currently have opportunities to learn about International Education/Sustainable Development Education and Citizenship Education in a variety of ways including Learning and Teaching Scotland’s website, Local Authority international co-ordinators, the LTS Masterclass programme and through the International Chartered Teacher module launched on 26 April. The Scottish Government funds Learning and Teaching Scotland, British Council Scotland, and the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (SCILT) to support teachers in their continuous professional development in international education

  The Sustainable Development Education Liaison Group (SDELG) is an advisory group to Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS). They have provided a useful framework for developing thinking about the way in which the revised curriculum can encompass learning and teaching about sustainable development education in schools. The role, remit and date of the next SDELG meeting is a matter for LTS.

Education

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of pupils left secondary school with a Higher level qualification in a second language in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Maureen Watt: The available information is given in the following table.

  Per Cent of School Leavers with a Qualification in a Second Language at SCQF Level 6 (Higher) or Better

  

 
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007


 Aberdeen City
 4
 6
 7
 6
 7
 8
 7
 8
 7
 7


 Aberdeenshire
 9
 9
 9
 10
 10
 13
 11
 11
 9
 8


 Angus
 6
 7
 7
 7
 7
 8
 8
 6
 9
 6


 Argyll and Bute
 7
 7
 7
 6
 7
 8
 9
 8
 5
 10


 Clackmannanshire
 5
 5
 4
 6
 7
 4
 5
 8
 4
 7


 Dumfries and Galloway
 5
 6
 6
 7
 8
 8
 9
 8
 7
 7


 Dundee City
 4
 4
 4
 4
 6
 6
 6
 6
 6
 5


 East Ayrshire
 7
 6
 6
 6
 8
 6
 8
 8
 7
 8


 East Dunbartonshire
 11
 9
 11
 10
 12
 14
 12
 11
 11
 11


 East Lothian
 6
 5
 8
 7
 7
 6
 7
 6
 6
 6


 East Renfrewshire
 7
 7
 8
 9
 10
 13
 12
 14
 15
 16


 Edinburgh City of
 9
 8
 7
 9
 9
 9
 10
 8
 9
 9


 Eilean Siar
 14
 21
 19
 19
 18
 21
 19
 18
 18
 15


 Falkirk
 3
 5
 4
 3
 4
 3
 4
 3
 3
 4


 Fife
 7
 8
 6
 7
 8
 9
 8
 7
 6
 6


 Glasgow City
 3
 3
 4
 4
 4
 4
 5
 4
 5
 5


 Highland
 8
 8
 8
 8
 9
 9
 10
 8
 8
 9


 Inverclyde
 5
 7
 7
 7
 12
 11
 11
 11
 10
 9


 Midlothian
 5
 6
 6
 6
 7
 7
 6
 6
 7
 4


 Moray
 5
 9
 7
 6
 7
 8
 8
 7
 6
 6


 North Ayrshire
 5
 6
 6
 7
 6
 7
 6
 7
 7
 7


 North Lanarkshire
 5
 5
 5
 5
 5
 6
 6
 5
 6
 5


 Orkney Islands
 8
 5
 12
 9
 9
 8
 7
 6
 11
 7


 Perth and Kinross
 8
 7
 8
 9
 9
 11
 9
 8
 9
 7


 Renfrewshire
 6
 6
 6
 6
 7
 7
 7
 7
 6
 6


 Scottish Borders
 8
 9
 7
 11
 10
 10
 10
 9
 7
 7


 Shetland Islands
 5
 2
 7
 6
 6
 6
 8
 7
 5
 6


 South Ayrshire
 7
 9
 8
 8
 10
 8
 9
 8
 7
 7


 South Lanarkshire
 5
 6
 7
 7
 7
 8
 7
 7
 7
 6


 Stirling
 7
 6
 6
 8
 7
 9
 9
 12
 9
 9


 West Dunbartonshire
 4
 4
 3
 3
 4
 7
 4
 5
 4
 5


 West Lothian
 6
 4
 5
 5
 5
 5
 6
 5
 5
 3



  Note: includes modern foreign languages and Gaelic (Learners), excludes Latin and Greek.

Employment

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in promoting more home and flexi-working in the public sector.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in encouraging the private sector to promote more home and flexi-working.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in achieving its stated objective of promoting more home and flexi-working in the public sector and encouraging the private sector to do likewise.

John Swinney: The expansion of home and flexi-working levels is closely aligned with a number of the strategic objectives within the national performance framework. The policy on flexible and home working is an operational matter for individual organisations and will need to consider a number of issues including business need as well as HR policy. We have taken the approach of delivering this commitment as part of a wider transport policy agenda to persuade and not punish car users towards other modes. This package includes the promotion of smarter choices, especially travel plans which can including home and flexi-working.

  The Scottish Government is funding the Regional Transport Partnerships to implement and monitor measures which result in more sustainable travel practices within all NHS boards and local authorities. We are funding the Energy Saving Trust to deliver a range of programmes and to work with public and private sector organisations to promote and deliver sustainable travel advice, including advice for individuals and small businesses through the Energy Saving Scotland advice networks, and site specific travel plan and green fleet advice for larger organisations.

  This work will be complemented with Scottish travel plan guidance and a website which will travel planning tools and resources, including a travel plan monitoring tool when it becomes available later this year.

  As an employer, flexible working remains a key part of the Scottish Government’s diversity agenda and we continue to promote the wide range of flexible working opportunities.

  Also, in November 2007, we set up the Public Sector Diversity Network, which aims to share best practice with other public sector employers on a range of diversity and equality issues, including flexible working.

Employment

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to measure its success in meeting its objective of promoting more home and flexi-working in the public sector and encouraging the private sector to do likewise.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government is working with a number of organisations to promote, develop and implement measures to reduce the negative impacts associated with travel, both the commute to work as well as business trips. In the main, this involves the implementation of a travel plan, which can include home and flexi-working where appropriate. The Energy Saving Trust is developing a travel plan monitoring tool, which will monitor the implementation as well as the outcomes delivered by travel plans. We will encourage all public sector organisations to use this tool when it becomes available later this year.

  The outcome of this commitment is closely aligned with the National Performance Framework. In particular the transport related indicators to reduce the proportion of driver journeys delayed due to traffic congestion and to increase the proportion of journeys to work made by public or active transport, as well as other data on travel patterns, will tell us whether our desired outcomes are being achieved. Performance against the national indicators is published on the Scottish Government website, Scotland Performs, at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/scotPerforms.

Employment

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how its skills strategy will address gender segregation in employment.

Fiona Hyslop: Equality is a guiding principle of the skills strategy. In order to fully consider the equalities implications of each policy area on its relevant audience and to mitigate against gender segregation we will ensure that each programme underpinning this strategy will be equality impact assessed across six strands, race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, age and religion/faith, to make sure that they are appropriate. We will also ensure that they are monitored thereafter, to mitigate against any potential negative impact, to be proactive in promoting positive actions and to ensure that our policies supporting the skills strategy are as robust and effective as they can be for as many people as possible.

Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13128 by Jim Mather on 3 June 2008, what the value of Scottish Enterprise’s investment in each regeneration project (a) is in 2008-09 and (b) will be for the following three years.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13128 by Jim Mather on 3 June 2008, whether each regeneration project will be managed and delivered by Scottish Enterprise.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13128 by Jim Mather on 3 June 2008, whether the funding allocated to each regeneration project will be transferred to the relevant local authority in the event that the project cannot be delivered as planned.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13128 by Jim Mather on 3 June 2008, whether the funding allocated to each regeneration project will be transferred to the relevant local authority in the event that the project cannot be completed in the next three years.

Jim Mather: This is an operational matter or Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its chief executive to write to you in this regard.

Enterprise

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available under the Business Improvement Districts project and what level of funding is still available.

John Swinney: Over the two years 2006-08, the Scottish Government provided funding of around £1.1 million to establish the framework for the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) programme and support the six pilot BID projects. With the completion of these stages, funding for the period 2008-11 will be set at around £500,000 per year to provide practical and financial support for the BIDs programme.

Fuel Costs

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has calculated costs to the following public services as a result of recent significant increases in the cost of fuel and energy and, if so, what the additional cost burden will be on the (a) fire service, broken down by local authority area, (b) police, broken down by force area and (c) Scottish Ambulance Service, broken down by divisional area.

Kenny MacAskill: All parts of the Scottish public sector will be affected by escalating fuel costs, the effects of which are complex and depend in part on future movements in fuel prices over the remainder of the financial year, relative fuel dependency and the way that different parts of the public sector pay for their fuel. Under the terms of the concordat with local government, assessment of the impact of recent increases in fuel and energy costs for the police and fire and rescue services are matters for local government and COSLA to take forward in conjunction with their respective police and fire boards. In relation to the assessment of impact on costs on the Scottish Ambulance Service, this is a matter for the chief executive.

Fuel Costs

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, given the recent announcement that the First Minister will commission a study into establishing an oil fund for Scotland, what plans it has to consult on the establishment of an area-based motor fuel tax discount scheme for Scotland’s remote areas and islands.

Stewart Stevenson: Fuel taxation is reserved to Westminster and the Scottish Government has made clear its concern over fuel costs in Scotland’s remote areas and islands.

  Scottish ministers have commissioned a study into the establishment of an oil fund for Scotland, where revenues could be invested for the benefit of future generations, which will cover all aspects of the creation and management of such a fund. This will involve an assessment of how an oil fund could be used to create direct and long-term benefits for the Scottish economy.

Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change how discretionary funds are distributed.

Fiona Hyslop: We have no plans to change how discretionary funds are distributed. The funds for higher education have now been allocated for academic year 2008-09. These funds are continually monitored and the guidance is updated on an annual basis. This allows us to regularly introduce any changes or improvements to the way the funds are allocated or the guidance underlying them.

Justice

Nigel Don (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in its discussions with the UK Government on addressing the consequences of the Somerville judgment for human rights claims against the Scottish Ministers.

Kenny MacAskill: The answer to question S3W-6286 on 14 November 2007 described the legal impact of the Somerville judgement both in relation to slopping out in prisons and more generally, as well as the action that the Scottish Government was taking to remedy the prison conditions we inherited from the previous administration and that had led to that judgement. Given the terms of the judgement and the current state of the law we have no option but to settle outstanding court cases and subsequent claims for compensation from others detained in similar conditions for a material period of time, subject to any general provisions on prescription and limitation of claims and delay.

  We have therefore acted to deal with the immediate consequences of the judgement. As at 16 May 2008, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) had settled 1,093 court cases and 1,325 compensation claims submitted under the administrative scheme set up to consider slopping out claims without the need to go to court. The SPS has paid out £5.1 million in compensation and £2.6 million in associated legal fees. A further 600 cases are under offer and another 740 have yet to be considered. New claims are being received at the rate of 260 per week and are being dealt with as quickly as possible.

  That still leaves the question of how to deal with the fundamental legal issue that it raised, namely that the Scottish ministers are the only public authority exposed to claims for damages arising from alleged breaches of human rights without a one-year time bar.

  When the Somerville judgement was delivered in October 2007, I made clear to the UK Government that we considered that situation to be untenable and unacceptable. I therefore sought early discussions with the UK Government to discuss the judgement’s implications and how the anomaly it created could be addressed. In particular, I proposed that the UK Government should introduce legislation to apply to claims against the Scottish ministers the same one-year time bar under the Human Rights Act as applies in other claims under the act. Since this concerns a reserved matter, such legislation would require the agreement of the UK government even though the problem to be remedied is a purely Scottish one.

  Some constructive discussions with the UK Government at both ministerial and official level have since taken place. However, I regret to report that we have not so far secured agreement by the UK Government to our request that they should take action to remedy the situation, whether by amendment of the Scotland Act or by giving the Parliament the power to do so itself. This is disappointing, especially given the seriousness of this issue and the initial indications we received that they would consider our approach positively and promptly. Nevertheless, our discussions are continuing. In the meantime, I have made clear to the UK Government my disappointment that this issue remains unresolved, and reiterated that I look forward to hearing from them as soon as possible with substantive proposals. I will continue to keep the Parliament advised of developments.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Maternity Services

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many midwife-led postnatal units there were in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland and (b) each parliamentary region.

Shona Robison: There are 40 maternity units across Scotland, 22 Community maternity units and the remainder level 2 and 3 consultant-led maternity units. All units are part of a network of care within their NHS board/region.

  In all cases the bulk of postnatal care is provided by midwives in hospital and then in the community.

  Maternity Units, by Scottish Parliamentary Region

  

 West of Scotland


 Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock
 Community maternity unit


 Royal Alexandria, Paisley
 Consultant-led maternity unit, and co-located Community maternity unit 


 Vale of Leven District General Hospital, Alexandria
 Community maternity unit



  

 Central Scotland


 Wishaw General, Wishaw
 Consultant-led maternity unit



  

 Glasgow


 Princess Royal
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Queen Mothers
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Southern General
 Consultant-led maternity unit



  

 Mid-Scotland and Fife


 Forth Park, Kirkcaldy
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Perth Royal Infirmary, Perth
 Community maternity unit


 Stirling Royal, Stirling
 Consultant-led maternity unit



  

 South of Scotland


 Cresswell Maternity Unit, Dumfries
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Borders General, Melrose
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Ayrshire Central, Irvine
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Dalrymple Hospital, Stranraer
 Community maternity unit



  

 North East Scotland


 Aberdeen, Aberdeen
 Consultant-led maternity unit and co-located Community maternity unit


 Chalmers Hospital, Banff
 Community maternity unit


 Fraserburgh Hospital, Fraserburgh
 Community maternity unit


 Peterhead Cottage Hospital, Peterhead
 Community maternity unit


 Aboyne Hospital, Aboyne
 Community maternity unit


 Arbroath Infirmary, Arbroath
 Community maternity unit


 Montrose Royal Infirmary, Montrose
 Community maternity unit


 Ninewells, Dundee
 Consultant-led maternity unit



  

 Lothian


 Simpsons Centre for Reproductive Health, Edinburgh
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 St John’s, Livingston
 Consultant-led maternity unit



  

 Highlands and Islands


 Caithness, Wick
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Raigmore, Inverness
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Gilbert Bain Memorial Hospital, Lerwick
 Community maternity unit


 Uist and Barra Hospital, Benbecula
 Community maternity unit


 Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall
 Community maternity unit


 Western Isles, Stornoway
 Consultant-led maternity unit


 Lorne & Islands District General Hospital, Oban
 Community maternity unit


 Dunoon and District General Hospital, Dunoon
 Community maternity unit


 Campbeltown Hospital, Campbeltown
 Community maternity unit


 Islay hospital, Bowmore
 Community maternity unit


 Victoria Hospital, Rothesay
 Community maternity unit


 Mid Argyll Hospital, Lochgilphead
 Community maternity unit


 Isle of Arran War Memorial, Lamlash
 Community maternity unit


 Belford Hospital, Fort William
 Community maternity unit


 MacKinnon Memorial Hospital, Broadford
 Community maternity unit


 Dr Gray’s, Elgin
 Consultant-led maternity unit



  Changes to Maternity Services in the last Five Years

  

 Perth Royal changed from Consultant Led Unit to Community Maternity Unit in 2004


 Inverclyde changed from Consultant Led Unit to Community Maternity Unit in 2003


 Vale of Leven changed from Consultant Led Unit to Community Maternity Unit in 2003


 Falkirk Consultant Led service moved to Stirling in 2003


 Maternity services moved from Ayrshire Central, Irvine to Ayrshire Maternity Unit, Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock in August 2006 


 Maternity services relocated from the Cresswell Maternity Hospital, Dumfries to Cresswell Maternity Wing, Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary in March 2003.


 Dalrymple Hospital, Stranraer closed and midwife led services moved to the newly built Galloway Community Hospital in 2006. 


 Community Maternity Unit opened alongside Consultant-Led Unit in November 2004.

Ministerial Correspondence

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance was in answering ministerial correspondence in the first quarter of 2008.

Bruce Crawford: In the quarter January to March 2008, 9,329 letters were received by ministers and 94% received a reply within our target of 20 working days.

NHS Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons have been learned in the implementation of Agenda for Change.

Nicola Sturgeon: Implementation of Agenda for Change is on-going at present and as such no final assessment has yet been made. However, discussions between Scottish Government, staff representative groups and employers take place on a regular basis to consider and learn from issues as they arise.

NHS Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why NHS boards were not asked to implement national job description pay scales in order to achieve consistency and equal pay for each work group across board areas.

Nicola Sturgeon: Whilst job descriptions are often similar, they do contain unique elements and as such, implementing national job descriptions would have disadvantaged staff and created equal pay issues.

  Agenda for Change is a UK-wide agreement which was developed in partnership between the UK Health Departments, NHS employers, trades unions and professional representative organisations. It is designed to deliver equal pay for work of equal value and is based on the job evaluation system which assesses each post through a robust, objective and transparent process to arrive at a pay band. Staff also have the opportunity to request a review where they feel they have been inappropriately banded under the assimilation process.

NHS Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost is of backdated pay under Agenda for Change, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not available centrally. Implementation of Agenda for Change is still on-going and total costs of backdated pay will not be known until this process is complete.

NHS Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ongoing appeals on decisions made under Agenda for Change are taking place, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Latest available data is at 30 April 2008 and suggests that of the 157,000 staff already assimilated, review requests covering 39,745 staff have been lodged with 13,723 being accepted and put forward to the formal review process.

NHS Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many health professionals, including ambulance staff, have experienced reductions in salary levels as a result of the implementation of Agenda for Change, broken down by (a) health profession and (b) NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: A commitment has been given that no member of NHS staff will receive a reduction in salary as a result of the implementation of Agenda for Change. Although the process is not yet complete, less than 4% of staff are on pay protection as a result of Agenda for Change.

NHS Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of implementation of Agenda for Change has been, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not available centrally. Implementation of Agenda for Change is still on-going and final costs will not be known until this process is complete.

NHS Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the implementation of Agenda for Change will be completed and how the proposed completion date compares with the initial projected completion date.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is estimated that implementation of Agenda for Change in Scotland, including payment of arrears, will be completed by 31 December 2008. The initial UK wide target date for completion was October 2005 but this was not met throughout the UK.

  Clearly the implementation of Agenda for Change has taken longer than had been anticipated. It was agreed in partnership between employers, trades unions and professional organisation representatives and the then Scottish Executive that the assessment process put in place should be robust, that outcomes should be checked at local level to ensure consistency and then reviewed at national level to ensure that the job evaluation system is correctly applied.

Public Sector

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many premium rate numbers are used by (a) it, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies and what revenue it has derived from each such number in 2007-08.

John Swinney: Information Services and Information Systems (ISIS) Division manages telephony services used within the Scottish Government. ISIS does not use any 09 or other premium rate numbers in the provision of telephony services.

  Information on the use of 09 or other premium numbers across agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and therefore we are unable to provide the information requested in relation to these bodies.

Public Sector

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which of its departments use premium rate telephone numbers and for what purpose.

John Swinney: Information Services and Information Systems Division (ISIS) manages telephony services used within the Scottish Government. The division does not use any 09 or other premium rate numbers in the provision of telephony services.

Public Sector

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the review into data handling, initiated in November 2007.

John Swinney: The Data Handling Review has now produced a report. This shows that public bodies across Scotland take their responsibilities in this area seriously, are committed to further improvement, and recognise the importance attached by the public to effective data handling. The review has identified areas for improvement and work is already in hand on these.

  A copy of the report has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46005).

Public Transport

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a statutory quality partnership for bus services (a) exists or (b) has ever existed anywhere in Scotland and, if so, (i) where and (ii) between what dates.

Stewart Stevenson: To date no statutory quality partnership has been introduced in Scotland.

Rail Network

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many miles there are of (a) used and (b) unused railway track, broken down by parliamentary region.

Stewart Stevenson: This information is not held centrally and no single body can provide it.

  However, the Scottish Government published in December 2007 the Scottish Transport Statistics: No 26 - 2007 Edition which provides statistics on rail services amongst others. The total operational route length of the railway network in Scotland is 2,736 kilometres. This document is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/14120610/0.

Rail Network

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many instances of signal failure that have prevented trains crossing the Forth Rail Bridge (a) between 1 May 2007 and 3 April 2008 and (b) from 3 April 2008.

Stewart Stevenson: This information is not held centrally. It is a matter for Network Rail.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with Transport Scotland in relation to increasing the frequency of passenger rail services between Kilmarnock and Carlisle.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland is part of the Scottish Government, and internal discussions about timetable developments take place in the normal course of its business.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with Network Rail in relation to increasing the frequency of passenger rail services between Kilmarnock and Carlisle.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland meets regularly with Network Rail in normal, planned business meetings to discuss timetable developments. These discussions have included options to increase the frequency of passenger rail services between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all rail stations between Kilmarnock and Glasgow will benefit from a half-hourly rail service after the completion of work on the dynamic loop

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland is committed to delivering a half-hourly service between Kilmarnock and Glasgow by December 2009.

  No final decisions have yet been made about the timetable. Transport Scotland is looking at various options.

  Any final decision will be based on balancing the needs of all passengers with the best value for public money.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable will be for all rail services between Kilmarnock and Glasgow after completion of the dynamic loop.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland is committed to delivering a half-hourly service between Kilmarnock and Glasgow by December 2009.

  No final decisions have yet been made about the timetable. Transport Scotland is looking at various options.

  Any final decision will be based on balancing the needs of all passengers with the best value for public money.

Teachers

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that it is in the best interests of children at Ullapool Primary School for the Highland Council to withdraw visiting specialist teachers in music and physical education as part of its budget savings exercise.

Maureen Watt: The provision of staffing for individual schools is a matter for each local authority depending on local circumstances. All primary teachers are trained to teach the full curriculum. The Education Culture and Sport budget of Highland Council increased by £12.5 million this year.

Teachers

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that the role of visiting specialist teachers in primary schools is valuable and essential to the education of primary children in rural areas.

Maureen Watt: The role played by all teachers is valuable. All primary teachers are trained to teach the whole curriculum. The Education Culture and Sport budget of Highland Council increased by £12.5 million this year.

Teachers

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the decision to cut visiting specialist teachers to Ullapool Primary School is at odds with its manifesto commitment to increasing teacher numbers.

Maureen Watt: The manifesto commitment was to maintain teacher numbers and the concordat states that there are specific arrangements for local government to do this. Maintaining teacher numbers in the face of falling rolls will create headroom to progress class size reduction. The Education Culture and Sport budget of Highland Council increased by £12.5 million this year.

Teachers

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions its concordat with local government and its outcome agreement with the Highland Council have to ensure visiting teacher numbers are maintained and improved.

Maureen Watt: The concordat signed with local government on 14 November 2007 makes no specific reference to visiting teacher numbers. It does provide for the broad maintenance of teacher numbers across Scotland at 2007 levels. The education culture and sport budget of Highland Council increased by £12.5 million this year.

Teachers

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that the grant given to the Highland Council in the current financial year is sufficient to avoid the council having to reduce teacher numbers, particularly visiting specialist teachers to rural primary schools.

Maureen Watt: The local government finance settlement provides sufficient funding to councils to broadly maintain teacher numbers at 2007 levels. The deployment of teachers including the use of visiting specialists is a matter for individual local authorities. The education culture and sport budget of Highland Council increased by £12.5 million this year.

Trading Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many trading standards officers there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

John Swinney: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) asks local authorities to make returns relating to trading standards and the information it collects is published. The latest such information, published by CIPFA in Trading Standards Statistics 2007 , indicates, for example, that there were 516 staff on a full-time equivalent basis employed in trading standards in Scotland as at 1 April 2007.

Transport

Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the TRIBAL Economic Appraisal of the A82 Tarbet to Fort William Road and will bear in mind the economic benefits outlined when undertaking the strategic transport projects review, especially regarding the removal of tourism constraints to help the Highlands and Islands contribute to the Scottish Government’s economic strategy.

Stewart Stevenson: Yes.